Chapter 85: The Leash Arrives

The bell shrilled. The vibrating alarm, which Sa-yoon kept by his bedside, clamored loudly.

It was an emergency contact alarm he had given to Chae-jun and Kang Ah-jun, just as a precaution.

Sa-yoon’s eyes snapped open in bed, and he bolted upright, rushing out the door.

The door to the adjacent room stood wide open, and raucous voices spilled from within.

“Damn it. They’re putting up a hell of a fight.”

“Lend a hand here!”

This was no mere skirmish involving one or two assailants. At least ten individuals had stormed the room assigned to Kim Chae-jun and Kang Ah-jun, creating utter chaos.

Sa-yoon cracked his knuckles as he advanced toward the doorway.

Several men were pinning down Chae-jun, the smaller of the two, while the rest cornered Kang Ah-jun. Among them, one appeared to be a psychokinetic specialist.

Considering that even an A-rank Esper like Chae-jun was utterly immobilized, there seemed to be a formidable strength-based Esper present as well.

“Team Leader!”

Kang Ah-jun’s face brightened at the sight of Sa-yoon. He beamed, waving his hand in greeting.

Conversely, the intruders’ expressions twisted into even fiercer scowls.

“We were planning to just hold these two down and leave, but you’ve conveniently come to us.”

Sa-yoon stared curiously at the man who dared to challenge him. His face was quite well-known among Espers, and his striking appearance certainly wasn’t one to be easily mistaken for someone else.

Yet, for him to provoke Sa-yoon so brazenly… ‘Was he truly confident, or were there perhaps two S-ranks among them?’ Sa-yoon mused.

“If that were the case, you should have come to me first. Why make me come all the way out here?”

As Sa-yoon’s chilling words echoed, Chae-jun, sprawled on the floor, actually flinched, glancing nervously at him.

When their eyes met, Chae-jun violently shook his head. ‘No, Team Leader. Don’t break everything.’

Sensing the desperate plea in his gaze, Sa-yoon offered a gentle smile. He knew that a little initial aggression was often necessary to make others fall in line.

With the thought of ‘two broken bones per person,’ he slowly raised his hand.

However, the face of the man pinning Chae-jun down struck him as oddly familiar. ‘Why? Sa-yoon didn’t know anyone who spoke that gibberish language.’

‘Ah-ha,’ he realized.

He remembered where he had seen that face: the victim being lynched in the hallway earlier today. Sa-yoon had felt pity and smashed a light fixture over the perpetrator’s head.

He had saved the man, only for him to be here, asserting dominance over the newcomers. Levian’s words about ‘unnecessary interference’ resurfaced in his mind.

Now, Sa-yoon finally understood what kind of place this was—a nest of identical individuals, where there were neither perpetrators nor victims. Devoid of guilt, Sa-yoon brought his hand down, and simultaneously, the world plunged into darkness.

“Please, just adhere to this one rule. I beg you, truly. I’m practically going bald from cleaning up the messes every time.”

“Yes, yes. It seems adapting to the first day was a bit difficult. I’ll be careful from now on.”

Sa-yoon smiled sweetly, consoling the administrative staff member whose face was utterly grim. Yesterday, in punishing the intruders, he had merely shifted a wall slightly, utilized a bed frame, and, in essence, ‘lightly’ damaged the surrounding property, which apparently was the issue.

In this battlefield where everything was supposedly free, there was one singular rule:

‘Never damage property, as the budget is always insufficient.’

It was an essential rule among Espers who clashed multiple times a day. He had wondered why the intruders had been so ‘gentle,’ merely restraining and threatening Kim Chae-jun and Kang Ah-jun.

It seemed they couldn’t afford to be more aggressive.

“If you damage property, the duration of your confinement in the brig increases according to the cost of the damage. It’s a terrible place where proper meals aren’t even provided. We’ll overlook it this time, as it was Levian’s fault for not explaining the rules, but you must be careful in the future.”

‘That Levian. He should have given proper instructions. If there was a rule like this, he should have told me when I broke the light fixture yesterday.’

Sa-yoon resolved to punch Levian in the face the next time he saw him, for so confidently claiming there were no rules or laws on the battlefield.

“If there’s someone you dislike, deal with them when you’re out in the field. We don’t manage that.”

“When you say ‘deal with them’…”

“If you wish for them to disappear, you must leave absolutely no trace.”

The administrator, who had casually uttered such terrifying words, tossed the dormitory repair estimate to Sa-yoon. Indeed, it seemed there wasn’t a single normal person here.

Even the administrator regarded human lives as mere flies.

“This is truly a frightening place.”

“Oh, you’re being overly dramatic. You’re the most adaptable person I’ve ever seen. Perhaps no one will dare to challenge you starting tomorrow. Your cleanup was simply exceptional.”

Sa-yoon tilted his head at that remark. He hadn’t really done much to the intruders yesterday. Of course, he had intended to break bones, but the resisting opponents were so weak that he lost his drive.

It felt a shame to just send them back, so all he did was hang them upside down from the central railing of the building, one by one. He considered that a sufficiently peaceful response.

“To tie someone up and abandon them, utterly defenseless, in a place anyone can access… it was a truly novel and cruel method. I was impressed, honestly.”

“Ah-ha.”

Realizing the administrator’s point of admiration, Sa-yoon felt a bitter taste in his mouth. It was akin to dangling a live chicken into a piranha tank, where the slightest sign of weakness would be exploited to establish dominance.

He had essentially laid out a feast for them to tear apart.

“Are those people alright?”

“They were a little injured, but no one’s life is in danger. It was their own doing anyway, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

The administrator replied smoothly, then handed Sa-yoon the repair schedule documents.

“Repairs will take about three days.”

“Thank you.”

“Still, don’t worry too much, as things will quiet down soon. The person who holds the leashes of these stray dogs will be back shortly.”

‘Leashes,’ he pondered. Was the administrator referring to the Alliance executives who would soon arrive on the battlefield for a conference? As Sa-yoon considered who this ‘leash-holder’ might be, recalling several hypotheses, a fierce wind howled outside the window.

Through the large clouds, the roaring sound of a propeller turning grew louder, followed by a military helicopter landing on the dry ground.

“They said he’d arrive in the evening, but it seems the leash arrived earlier than expected.”

The helicopter door opened. Stepping out onto the hard ground was a figure familiar even to Sa-yoon.

“Come to think of it, you’re from the same country, aren’t you? You must know Esper Han Do-hoon well.”

Sa-yoon watched Han Do-hoon walk through the sandstorm in the distance—the man who had appeared in his nightmares every day for a month, tormenting him.

He was filled with bitter resentment, overwhelming fear, and an insane longing. His neatly combed hair and impeccable posture were exactly as Sa-yoon remembered Han Do-hoon.

Sa-yoon wasn’t the only one watching Han Do-hoon. Other Espers, who had been noisily milling about in the hallway, also turned to stare out the window. As Han Do-hoon opened the central building’s door and entered, they all kept their distance, watching him from afar.

“Things will be quiet for a while now.”

The administrator nodded with satisfaction. True to his words, the indoor atmosphere was incomparably quieter than before.

“As you know, Esper Han Do-hoon hates noise.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. And ever since he returned from his home country, he’s been in a foul mood, so many people are being careful.”

Sa-yoon looked toward where Han Do-hoon had entered and was now out of sight. ‘Was that true? Did he dislike noise? In front of me, he always seemed so placid, utterly without any sensitive quirks.’

And now, that person was in a foul mood. Was he so upset about the failed operation to bring Sa-yoon to the battlefield? Now that Sa-yoon was here as he wished, perhaps he felt relieved.

Sa-yoon offered a bitter smile at the reality of soon facing Han Do-hoon and bid the administrator farewell.

“Then, thank you for the kind guidance. I’ll see you next time.”

“We are the kind of people it’s better not to see too often. I sincerely hope you remain safe until the day you return home, without needing to see my face again.”

After exchanging unique farewells, Sa-yoon stepped outside. He saw Kim Chae-jun and Kang Ah-jun, plastered against the wall, standing at attention with their ears perked.

Patting the two men, whose expressions were clouded with worry about disciplinary action, Sa-yoon steered them toward their dormitory. The room where he had met the administrator was in the building opposite the three men’s dormitory.

To return to their room, they inevitably had to cross the central building—the very place Han Do-hoon had just entered. “What’s wrong, Team Leader? Do you have something else to do?” Chae-jun asked as Sa-yoon hesitated.

Sa-yoon shook his head and took another step. The central building, true to its name, was the largest, and the swift Han Do-hoon would surely have left the lobby by now. ‘There’s no way I’ll run into him.’

With that thought, he walked through the corridor leading to the central building. He passed through the central lobby, which was noticeably quieter than he remembered. As expected, Han Do-hoon had vanished without a trace.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Sa-yoon moved toward the corridor of the opposite building.

“Sa-yoon?”

A voice called from behind him. It was a familiar voice, a familiar tone. The person who had called him so intimately rushed toward Sa-yoon in an instant.

“Han Do-ho—”

Before Sa-yoon could even finish Han Do-hoon’s name, he was enveloped in the approaching man’s embrace. Extending his long arms, Han Do-hoon tightly encircled Sa-yoon, pulling him close without hesitation, and kissed his lips.

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